Mission

▲

Leading the fight to treat and cure ALS through global research and nationwide advocacy while also empowering people with Lou Gehrig's Disease and their families to live fuller lives by providing them with compassionate care and support.
Mission Priorities
1. Raise the level of awareness of The ALS Association as the leading voice and most trusted source of information about Lou Gehrig's Disease.
2. Lead, direct and/or collaborate on global research to understand the disease, develop treatments and ultimately find a cure.
3. Provide every person with ALS and their families access to high quality, consistent and compassionate support services.
4. Advance a nationwide advocacy program that increases funding for ALS research, improves patient services and empowers the entire ALS community.
5. Function as one organization with unity of purpose.
6. Operate within a business model designed to ensure stability and promote financial strength.

Mission

▲

Leading the fight to treat and cure ALS through global research and nationwide advocacy while also empowering people with Lou Gehrig's Disease and their families to live fuller lives by providing them with compassionate care and support.
Mission Priorities
1. Raise the level of awareness of The ALS Association as the leading voice and most trusted source of information about Lou Gehrig's Disease.
2. Lead, direct and/or collaborate on global research to understand the disease, develop treatments and ultimately find a cure.
3. Provide every person with ALS and their families access to high quality, consistent and compassionate support services.
4. Advance a nationwide advocacy program that increases funding for ALS research, improves patient services and empowers the entire ALS community.
5. Function as one organization with unity of purpose.
6. Operate within a business model designed to ensure stability and promote financial strength.

Results Information

▲

Results Information

Charting Impact

What is your organization aiming to accomplish?

The ALS Association's ultimate goal is to find treatments and a cure for ALS while helping patients and their families manage the impact of the disease through various programs and services. Our mission priorities include raising public awareness about ALS; a global research program; providing people with ALS access to high-quality care and resources; and advocating for increased funding for ALS research and patient services.

What are your strategies for making this happen?

The ALS Association conducts public awareness campaigns to increase awareness and strives to be the go-to source for up-to-date information. Our research program TREAT ALS(TM), is presently funding and directing 98 global projects worth $18. 1 million; this includes fellowship grants to young scientists just starting their careers in ALS. The Association works to provide patients with the highest possible quality of multi-disciplinary care through our Certified Center Program in order to prolong and improve the quality of life. Our nationwide network of 38 chapters offers programs, services, resources and education on the disease, life planning, strategies for medical and non-medical options and general support. Our annual National Advocacy Day and Public Policy Conference brings together patients, family members and concerned individuals from all over the United States to advocate for policies to help people with ALS. We work at the local, state and federal levels to foster government partnerships to increase services to people with the disease and to raise money for research.

What are your organization's capabilities for doing this?

The ALS Association commits over 70% of its annual budget to delivering program services, including research. We have a senior leadership team at the national office that includes individuals with expertise in chapter management, communications and marketing, care services, public policy and finance. Our Chief Scientist is internationally respected and leads The Association's global research program. Our nationwide network of 38 chapters provides a consistent organization presence in communities across the US. We work alongside many partners to improve the lives of patients living with the disease. These partners include MDA, ALS-TDI and Project ALS. We are actively involved in the National Health Council and foster partnerships with government agencies, including the U. S. Center for Disease Control, along with pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies and academic institutions.

How will your organization know if you are making progress?

Every fiscal year, The ALS Association establishes measurable objectives that support the strategic plan. The CEO reports on progress towards these objectives to the National Board of Trustees of The Association on a regular basis. In addition to completing key projects as an indicator of success towards intended impact, The Association also has metrics related to the following: donated media value, media placements; social media audiences; online engagement; research expenditures, workshops and strategic meetings; research webinars and news updates; certified centers; distribution of educational materials; partnerships and other collaborations; government funding for ALS-related projects, and more. The Association also has a strategic planning committee on its Board of Trustees, which reviews the organization's five-year strategic plan and develops a collaborative process to provide input on new plans.

What have and haven't you accomplished so far?

As of March 31, 2014 The ALS Association has approximately 98 research projects actively engaged in six areas of research committed to determining the causes of ALS disease. Projects that The Association funds are often published in major medical journals and these are available at www. alsa. org. The Association has 39 Certified Treatment Centers of Excellence (CTCE) and expects to have 47 CTCE's by the end of 2014. Core requirements of CTCE's include strong chapter relationships, a lead ALS neurologist, a multidisciplinary team and engagement in active research related to ALS. The Association partnered with U. S. Food and Drug Administration to convene the first ever ALS specific public hearing and worked with Congress to secure continued funding for the ALS Research Program at the Department of Defense ($7. 5 million) and the National ALS Registry at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ($6 million). The Association earned $6 million in donated media and is working on a new campaign to raise awareness about the disease.

GuideStar's Gold Seal of Transparency is earned by completing five questions around an
organization's strategies, progress, and results, known as Charting Impact.
Charting Impact encourages strategic thinking about how an organization intends to achieve its goals.
The end result is a report that lets nonprofits share concise, detailed information about plans
and progress with key stakeholders, including the public.
This data is provided directly by nonprofits to GuideStar via their Nonprofit Profile.

Did you find the Results Information useful?

There was a problem saving your response. Please try again.

Thank you for your feedback. If you wish to share more about this data you may do so below.

Your feedback has been recorded

There was a problem saving your response. Please try again.

This results data is current as of November 2017, when it was provided to us by GuideStar.
Results information published on this organization's rating page has no effect on its rating at this time.
Learn More

Financial Charts

▲

Programs (FYE 01/2017)

▲

Program names and associated costs are listed for the top programs as reported on the charity's most recently filed Form 990. The top programs displayed will include the largest three programs, or those programs covering at least 60% of the charity's total expenses, whichever comes first.

Comments ()

This tool is not for questions about Charity Navigator, such as how we derived this charity’s rating. We will happily answer those questions if you contact us directly. Likewise, if you have questions for this charity, then we encourage you to contact the charity directly (we include the charity’s contact information in the upper left-hand corner of this page) since few charities regularly monitor this commenting tool.